How to Promote an Album: A Comprehensive Guide for Artists

You've dedicated an immense amount of time, energy, and creativity to recording your album, so your promotional strategy should reflect that effort. After all, your hard work deserves to be heard. It's undeniable that a significant part of an album's success lies in the marketing strategies that support it. When planning your album release, it’s essential to ensure you're taking every step to promote your art effectively. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the key steps for promoting your album and show you how the Pro Membership, can support your release with tools for distribution, marketing, and more.

To support you in this journey, we've compiled our top strategies for promoting your album release into a checklist. Each action item is listed in sequence, explaining how its execution can enhance your music's engagement. This way, you can spend less time worrying about your release strategy and more time connecting with your audience.

Who It's For:

Artists that have recently released an album or EP
Artists that are finishing up their album or EP
Artists who are invested in learning how to effectively promote future albums or EPs

What You'll Learn:

Which tools and platforms you should be using
Who you should be promoting to
Which steps you should take first when kicking off your promotional strategy

Essential Checklist for Music Promotion: Steps to Distribute and Promote Your Album Release Effectively

1. Sign Up for a Distribution

Distribution is a vital part of album promotion and getting your music heard by new (and old) fans. Whether you’re researching your options or already signed up with a distribution service, it’s important to evaluate EVERYTHING a paid distribution service can do for you.

What is Venice?

Venice is an all-in-one solution to distribute music, manage royalty payments, and monitor performance. In addition, Venice supports your evolving journey through weekly small-group office hours, music listening sessions, educational panels, AMAs, networking opportunities, and member discounts.

2. Sign Up for Spotify for Artists

When you distribute your music digitally, you should NOT be sleeping on Spotify. Spotify is the world’s most popular streaming platform, and you’ll want to make sure your music is distributed here so your music can accumulate streaming services royalties and get playlisted. Additionally, getting included in Spotify playlists curated by influential playlist curators can provide a significant boost.

Artist Profile

Your Spotify artist profile builds your credibility and audience, so it’s important to keep it up-to-date and active. You can update your bio, profile picture, playlists, and even pitch your music album to Spotify editors through Spotify for Artists. Ensure your upcoming release is positioned for success by sharing the story behind each track. Press coverage also plays a role in increasing engagement, so make sure to link related articles to your artist page.

3. Distribute Your Album on Apple Music and Other Streaming Platforms

To effectively promote your album, it's crucial to ensure that your music is available on all major streaming platforms, including Apple Music. Listing your album on platforms like Apple Music and Spotify makes it accessible to a vast audience of listeners who are actively looking for new music to add to their libraries.

If you're looking for a well-rounded distribution solution, Venice offers a range of services to support your music career. Beyond seamless distribution, Venice provides performance tracking, personalized guidance through its Co-Manager AI, and opportunities to explore immersive formats like Dolby Atmos. Venice also connects artists to a vibrant community, featuring workshops, live listening sessions, and industry networking. These resources help ensure that every aspect of your release, from distribution to engagement, is optimized for success.uti

4. Release a Single

Releasing a single ahead of your full album release can build engagement with your fans and momentum for your album. Plus, if your singles do well and gain traction, you can use that success when promoting your album to press release outlets and online newspapers ahead of your release date. Having a successful single can help create a buzz, opening doors for additional industry professionals and other artists who may want to collaborate with you.

Singles serve as a great teaser, setting the mood for the rest of the entire album. Music bloggers often pick up singles before they move on to full reviews, which is an excellent way to create more interest in your music.

5. Set Up an Album Pre-Order

In the weeks leading up to your album’s release, setting up an album pre-order is a must! An album pre-order is essentially a digital line your fans can stand in to get your album as soon as it hits stores. Not only does it generate buzz, but it also gives you a place to send new fans, followers, and media leading up to your music drop. When you’re ready to set up your album pre-order, find your way over to Venice to help.

Utilize Marketing Links

Additionally, smart links can simplify pre-order navigation for your audience, especially when promoting across multiple platforms. These links provide direct access to your album, whether fans want to stream, purchase physical copies, or explore exclusive content. Venice offers its own Marketing Links feature, a pre-save tool that ensures your fans have an easy way to engage with your music before it launches. By using Venice Marketing Links, you can streamline your promotional strategy and boost audience engagement across all streaming services.

6. Promote Album on Social Channels

This may come as a no-brainer, but we gotta stress it. Your social media accounts are often the link between you and your fans, so it’s important to keep your engagement here high! Teasing your album release on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter will build awareness and anticipation for your album drop and can even give your fans context to your album’s mood and story.

To get the most out of social media, focus on behind-the-scenes videos. Sharing the creative journey, from songwriting to working with a graphic designer on the album cover, adds an element of authenticity that keeps fans connected. This is also a great time to share promotional photos and exclusive content that will build a personal narrative around your music career.

If you’re the sole person executing your album promotion and feel overwhelmed with keeping up with your channels, consider a content calendar and a scheduling service like Buffer. A content calendar can help you organize your posts around key moments such as the release date, album cover reveals, and live stream announcements.

7. Reach Out to Your Contacts and/or Mailing List

Hit up your contacts and send an email to your mailing list to let them know you are or have released an album! Your established network can help spread the word and give your music some ears. Mailchimp is a free email marketing tool that allows you to build beautiful drag-and-drop emails to engage your contacts. A direct, 1:1 form of communication like email marketing often has a higher return than your average social post.

Use Venice Marketing Links to collect fan emails, providing a seamless way for listeners to pre-save your music while building your mailing list. Mailing lists also allow you to segment your fan base into different categories, such as new audiences, biggest fans, or those interested in merch sales.

8. Create Merch

Creating merch for your new album is a great way to A) make some extra money and B) rally your fans around your music. Merch like t-shirts, hoodies, stickers, CDs, vinyl, tote bags, and hats are great to have at shows or in your online shop—not to mention the subliminal marketing your fans are extending to the world around them. Merch like t-shirts and physical products help create brand visibility that reaches far beyond your online presence.

How to get Merch Made

Using services like Printful for physical products and merchandise will allow you to offer items without the need for large up-front investments. Merch bundles, especially for indie artists, are perfect for your next release.

9. Create Music Videos to Generate Buzz

Another powerful way to promote your album is through the creation of music videos. A compelling music video does more than just support your song—it provides a visual experience that draws viewers in and keeps them engaged with your narrative. Investing time in high-quality videos can help create buzz and boost your online presence, as videos are one of the most shareable forms of content. Teasers, clips, and even behind-the-scenes videos on social media are great ways to keep excitement high leading up to the full release. Additionally, Venice can help distribute your music videos, ensuring they reach the right platforms and maximize your audience engagement. By thoughtfully using music videos, you can significantly enhance your promotional strategy and keep fans excited about your work.

10. Surround Yourself with Music Industry Experts

Venice is a thriving community of music professionals committed to accelerating your career. Meet the people making waves in the industry, discover what’s working for other musicians, and connect with collaborators who can elevate your music. Our community thrives on strategizing and building together—whether online or in-person—offering countless opportunities to network and grow.

With Venice, you'll access guided resources designed to help you grow as an artist by learning directly from industry experts. Engage in workshops and feedback sessions led by industry legends, where you'll learn proven strategies tailored to finding fans, enhancing your craft, and advancing your career. Our network of experts offers in-depth sessions on the latest music trends and effective music promotion tactics, ensuring you stay at the forefront of the industry.

To fully unlock these opportunities, join the Pro Membership today and take advantage of exclusive sync opportunities, premium distribution tools, and a powerful network. You can also view past workshops here to get a sense of what awaits.

Build Your Network

Networking with other musicians can also help cross-promote. Consider working with other artists who are within a similar genre, as this allows you to tap into genre-centric blogs and potentially attract new listeners.

Ready to take your music career to the next level? Join Venice today and become part of a thriving community designed to support your journey.

11. Play Local Shows or Go on Tour

Playing your entire album live is a tried-and-true way to build connections with new and old fans. Performing live helps establish genuine relationships with your audience, something that can’t be done solely through streaming platforms. Setting up an album release show at local venues or planning a mini tour can significantly expand your fan base.

Consider signing up for Bandsintown for Artists to start promoting your upcoming live stream and physical performances to followers and fans. Playing at indie radio shows or scheduling radio broadcasts will further enhance your local and regional visibility. Bandsintown also provides you with signup forms and smart links so you can promote your shows and encourage attendance.

12. Take Advantage of Press and Media Outlets

Press release distribution is a critical component of album promotion. Reach out to local media push channels and online newspapers with a tailored electronic press release about your upcoming release. A well-timed press campaign can lead to interviews on radio stations and features on music bloggers' sites, all of which increase visibility.

Press Images

Having promotional photos and press coverage included in your press release will make your story more compelling to journalists and other artists. The key here is to create content that stands out and draws attention to your work.

Tools and Platforms Mentioned:

Venice's distribution and artist services
Spotify for Artists for managing your artist profile
Buffer for scheduling social media posts
Mailchimp for building and sending beautiful emails
Printful for custom merchandise
Bandsintown for Artists for concert scheduling and promotion

Bringing It All Together: Promotion for Maximum Impact

Successfully promoting your album takes a combination of creativity, strategy, and consistency. You’ve poured your heart into making your music, and your promotional efforts should match that same level of dedication to ensure that it reaches the right audiences. From leveraging distribution services like Venice to using Spotify and Apple Music effectively, every aspect of your release should be carefully orchestrated to build anticipation and maximize engagement. Creating content that resonates, whether it's singles, compelling music videos, or authentic behind-the-scenes footage, helps maintain a strong connection with your fanbase.

Take advantage of every opportunity, from pre-orders to live performances, to make sure your album finds its way to as many ears as possible. Whether you’re reaching out to your mailing list, connecting with industry professionals, or offering exclusive content, every action counts toward building momentum. Ultimately, the most successful releases are those that make fans feel like they’re a part of your journey—from the first teaser to the last track of your full album. Focus on creating memorable experiences, and the effort you’ve put into your art will resonate far beyond the release date.